The F-102 Delta Dagger - the Deuce - is one of the most instantly recognisable 1950s aircraft. It has the classic interceptor 'look' of a big delta wing, knife-like fuselage and big single engine. Many of us grew up with it as a poster child for speed and firepower. It made for a great model kit.

But the real aircraft had a complicated gestation and an unusual career. Failing to live up to its performance promises, it was rendered obsolete by a successor that became only operational three years after the Deuce's introduction. Its ambitious and technologically cutting edge weapons system took many years to perfect.

And yet this pure bred, slightly underperforming fighter still made an important contribution in the crucial middle years of the Cold War. Sitting on alert across North America, it acted as a deterrent against Soviet aggression. Over the jungles of South East Asia it played an unheralded role as a jack of all trades air superiority fighter, even serving as an unorthodox strike fighter from time-to-time.

In this extensive assessment, I go deep into the Deuce as a part of North American air defence, as an interceptor and as a part of the war effort in Vietnam. I really hope you enjoy this one. It answered some significant questions for me. As ever, comments greatly appreciated.

Notes and Sources:

Amongst other sources, I got a lot of the information in this video from:
Convair F-102 Delta Dagger by Wayne Mutza, an incredibly comprehensive text on the type

F-102 Delta Dagger Units by Peter E Davies, which was particularly useful for its interviews with pilots

F-102 Delta Dagger in Detail and Scale but Bert Kinsey and Rock Roszak was great for the finer points of the Deuce's weapon system

Wings Of Fame, Volume 17 provided some very useful additional information

Other sources:
A maintainer talks about IR/Radar slaving: https://tombenjey.com/tag/f-102/a

Some interesting Vietnam photos: https://oldsargesaircraft.blogspot.co...